Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

Spring Into Action is a series of 30 simple, affordable, and practical small business marketing tips that, if implemented, are guaranteed to explode your business this year (in a good way). Most tips are things you can do entirely on your own, and some of them are things you can even do in less than a day. For a list of all the tips along with links to additional resources for each tip, visit redpointmarketingconsultants.com/action.

In this episode, I use a story about fishing for stocked trout in Virginia to introduce a new series that I'll be running on the podcast next month called Spring Into Action. The series is 30 simple, affordable, and practical marketing tips in 30 days, with most tips being things you can do on your own without hiring any marketing experts to help you. Listen to this episode to learn more about the series and find out what trout fishing can teach us about small business marketing.

On the latest episode of my podcast, my guest was Marina Barayeva, an international portrait photographer who is also the host of the Marketing for Creatives podcast. We discussed why it is important to use a professional photographer to take pictures of you, your place of business, your products, and your employees to use on your website, on social media profiles, and in printed marketing materials.

It's the end of the year, and that means it's time to take a look forward at some of the marketing trends likely to affect local small business owners in 2019. In this episode, I discuss five specific trends that, in my opinion, will be so important in the coming year that businesses who choose to ignore them will do so at their peril.

Listen to my interview with Brian Greenberg, author of the book The Salesman Who Doesn’t Sell, to learn all about reputation marketing--a very important topic for local businesses, who are all participating in it whether they know it or not.

In my interview with Scott, we discuss some of the common mistakes local small business owners make when it comes to legal issues and especially asset protection. As you'll find out if you listen to the interview, Scott recommends an approach that not too many businesses are taking but that makes a lot of sense.

Good copywriting is an essential part of marketing, but for local small business owners it can be a challenge. If you aren't a writer yourself, it is sometimes difficult to communicate well with a writer so that they have the information they need to promote you effectively. In this episode, I talk with copywriting expert Nick Usborne about how to find and work with good copywriters.

In every community, there are a few businesses that have been around so long and have become such a part of the fabric of the town that people just take it for granted that they'll always be there. In some cases, the business is also taking it for granted...and in those cases, that business is in big trouble. Listen to this episode to learn why it's dangerous for any business, old or new, to have the mindset that it is entitled to exist.

In a recent survey, only 26% of small businesses said they are investing in email marketing. That's a tragedy, because it is by far the most cost-effective marketing tactic available to those businesses. In today's episode, I make a compelling case as to why email marketing is an absolute must for every business, and address head-on the main reason small business owners give me when I ask them why they aren't using it.

In this episode, I lay out a suggested process that I think small business owners should go through before they take a public stance on a divisive political issue, or take some kind of action that could be construed as supporting or opposing a hot-button political topic or person. The process involves answering three simple questions, which I discuss in the episode.

In my interview with marketing legend Perry Marshall, we discuss what he calls the “Five Power Disqualifiers”—in other words, five ways to determine that someone is not your ideal customer. Since, according to Perry, 80% of the people you talk to will fall into this category, having a process in place to disqualify them quickly will allow you to focus on the 20% of people who could be ideal customers for your business.

As longtime listeners to this podcast know, the first step in the Duct Tape Marketing system is creating a marketing strategy for your business, and the first step in that process is identifying your ideal customer. My guest for today's show, Jeffrey Shaw, has developed a 5-step process for helping business owners learn to speak the secret language of their ideal customers. Listen to today's episode to learn that process.

Last year, I started volunteering for the local chapter of a national organization called Heroes on the Water, which takes veterans and first responders and their families on free kayak fishing trips. Helping out that organization has reminded me of something that I already knew--getting involved in the leadership of local nonprofit organizations is a great way to get access to people with a lot of influence in your local community.

It's not every month that issues that affect small business marketing make international headlines, but this month there have actually been not one but two stories that could dramatically effect small business marketing. I cover both of these stories plus another important update regarding Google's policies regarding customer reviews in one whirlwind episode, so buckle up!

If your marketing message sounds something like "We have the best prices, best quality, and best service, so come buy our stuff", then you need to listen to my most recent podcast episode. The topic for my interview with Tom is how to create a marketing message that cuts through the noise and speaks directly to your ideal customer.

The small business marketing industry, in my opinion, is broken in two very important ways. In today's episode, I explain what those ways are, and how together (marketers and the small business owners who buy marketing services) we can start to fix them.